


The Revelation

by hermitpanda



Series: Coffee & Pie [17]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 01:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8948191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hermitpanda/pseuds/hermitpanda
Summary: He found him away from the activity of the crime scene leaning against the side of a SWAT van, his head tilted back with his eyes closed and his hands fisted. He crossed to him and stood within arm’s reach of his boyfriend. “Terrifying, isn’t it? The realization that you’re in love with someone and they put their life in danger routinely?”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Not much to say, so I'll just let you get on with reading. Enjoy :)  
> ~* HermitPanda *~
> 
> Disclaimer: Don't own the characters or the show. Just borrowing them.

It was a complete clusterfuck. Reid didn’t know how else to describe it. The house had been remodeled so many times that it bore no resemblance to the plans they had found. It made him think of the Winchester house. Doorways to solid walls. Staircases to nowhere. Nearly every one of the BAU agents and the locals had gotten separated. Somehow the Unsub had knocked out their radios so they had no communication. Then the shooting had started. The Unsub had used the confusion created by the chaotic house to ambush the raiding team. He had gotten away, and they still hadn’t found all of the people that had entered the house. Hotch and Prentiss were both unaccounted for along with five of the locals.

 

“I’m fine. Just find the others,” he snapped when JJ tried to fuss over the cut on his temple. He had opened a doorway and stepped onto what he thought was a solid stair, only to have it collapse underneath him. The fall had only been a few feet, but in the process, he had hit his head on the doorjamb. 

 

She scowled at him and tried to steer him towards an ambulance. “You could have -”

 

“JJ! I’m fine! I don’t have a concussion. I don’t have a headache. There’s no nausea or cognitive impairment. I’m not dizzy or disoriented. No sensitivity to light or ringing in the ears. We have to find the others, find out if anyone’s injured.” He swallowed back the bile rising in his throat and blinked away the tears forming in his eyes. “We have to find Hotch. I have to see Aaron.” He looked away quickly when his voice cracked.

 

“We will, but you do need to be checked.” She watched him helplessly. 

 

“After we find them.” He strode towards the command center, trying to ignore the weight pressing on his chest threatening to crush him. He knew that it would stay there until he knew that Aaron was safe and out of the house. He saw Morgan fussing over Prentiss on the side porch.

 

Rossi appeared around the corner of the house. “We need a medic!” He waved at one waiting ambulance crews. He had blood on the cuffs of his sleeves.

 

He knew. The medic was for Aaron. He started running towards Rossi. Morgan jumped over the porch railing and sprinted to intercept him. “Let me go.” Reid struggled when the other agent wrapped his arms around him.

 

“Reid, you don’t even know if it’s for him.” Morgan pulled him back towards the command area. He kept a tight hold on the younger agent. 

 

Reid jerked his arm out of his grip when the ambulance crew reappeared pushing a stretcher bearing Hotch. He nearly outpaced Morgan as he ran for the Unit Chief. “Aaron!” The injured man turned his head towards them but was bundled into the back of the ambulance before they could reach him. 

 

“Spencer, stop!” Rossi intercepted him and grabbed him by the arms. “The bullet barely missed his vest in his shoulder. He might need surgery to remove the bullet, but it looks like a clean wound. Plus, he’s conscious. He wants you to stay and focus on the case.”

 

“No. I’m going to the hospital.” The youngest team member tried to escape them. 

 

“Reid, Hotch ordered you to focus on the case. The sooner you focus on the case and help us catch this asshole, the sooner you can get to the hospital to be with Aaron.” Morgan tightened his grip on the man’s arm.

 

Reid closed his eyes and swallowed. “I need a few minutes to myself.”

 

“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” Morgan said.

 

“I won’t run away. I just need to collect my thoughts and get control of my emotions. I’ll be over there.” He vaguely gestured to where the SUVs were parked. He walked a short distance away and sat in the open back end of an SUV. He bowed his head. Hotch was giving orders. That was a good sign. If he’d lost too much blood, he would have lost consciousness. Another good sign.

 

He sighed. He’d known for a while that he and Aaron had been flirting with the next level of emotions, but he hadn’t realized that he had already fallen in love with his boyfriend. He couldn’t even be sure when he had. Retracing their relationship in his memory, he couldn’t pick a moment when he hadn’t felt this depth of emotion for the other man. Maybe he always had loved him. 

 

Spencer had never been a fanciful person that allowed his emotions to overly affect him, but there was an actual ache in his chest. He knew it was caused by the inability to be with his lover at the hospital. He understood why he’d been ordered to stay and work the case, but it frustrated him. He saw a movement at the edge of his vision and looked up to see Rossi.

 

“Ready to go back to the station, Reid?” 

 

He nodded and stood up. “Yeah, sorry. I’m ready to finish this.” He pushed his feelings for his boyfriend into a mental box and threw himself into the case. He was fastening his bulletproof vest back on for another attempt at catching the Unsub when JJ approached him to tell him that Hotch was being released from the hospital. He nodded and thanked her before walking over to Morgan for his assignment.

 

This attempt to arrest the Unsub had been much more successful with the only hiccup being that he had managed to set the warehouse on fire. Reid allowed himself to be escorted to the back of an ambulance and given an oxygen mask after he’d made his way out of the burning building. He looked around and counted the other BAU team members. Rossi and JJ were both receiving oxygen at another ambulance while Prentiss and Morgan stood talking off to the side. He smiled underneath the oxygen mask when he saw Hotch coming around an SUV with his left arm in a sling. There was no way the man was going to keep that sling on willingly for more than a day. He started making a mental list of ways to bribe him into wearing it, so he didn’t put any strain on the wound. 

 

Reid watched Hotch go over to Morgan and Prentiss. He stopped and talked to them for a moment before he located Rossi and JJ. He knew the Unit Chief probably didn’t see him amongst all the people crowded around the ambulance. JJ pointed over at him, and Hotch turned towards him. He smiled again when he saw the change from Hotch to Aaron. He knew the exact moment when Aaron realized the depth of his feelings. The older man took a few steps forward before a look of panic crossed his face. He turned away and disappeared behind one of the ambulances.

 

“Am I done?” Spencer asked the EMT hovering over him. He slipped the mask off and hurried after Aaron. He found him away from the activity of the crime scene leaning against the side of a SWAT van, his head tilted back with his eyes closed and his hands fisted. He crossed to him and stood within arm’s reach of his boyfriend. “Terrifying, isn’t it? The realization that you’re in love with someone and they put their life in danger routinely?”

 

“Oh God, Spencer.” Aaron’s good hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of the genius’s shirt to pull him closer. When their bodies were pressed together, he released his shirt and slid his arm around him.

 

Spencer wrapped his arms around the other man, careful not to put any pressure on his wound, and pressed his face into his neck. “I’ve always thought people who say their heart stopped during a tense moment were exaggerating, but I think my heart actually did stop when I saw you on that stretcher. All I could think of was how I might not get the chance to tell you that I love you. It was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced.”

 

“I love you,” Aaron whispered. “I didn’t even know it until I couldn’t find you, and when I did, you were in an ambulance with a mask on.”

 

“I’m fine. Just some minor smoke inhalation.” Spencer rubbed the back of the older man’s neck. “I love you so much. You’re not allowed to get shot again. I can’t handle it.”

 

Aaron chuckled softly. “Same goes for you. You’re coming to my room tonight.”

 

He nodded and finally loosened his grip on his boyfriend. He kissed him. “I know. We’ve got to go finish this off first. Morgan’s probably looking for us.”

 

“Go on. I’ll follow you in a minute.”

 

Spencer nodded and squeezed Aaron’s hand before walking off.


End file.
